Add tax vs remove tax — and why getting it wrong costs money
Adding 18% to ₹1,000 gives ₹1,180. Removing 18% from ₹1,180 gives ₹1,000 — they are NOT symmetric. Removing 18% from ₹1,000 actually gives ₹847.46.
Most invoices show tax exclusive (Net + Tax = Gross). Most shop shelf prices in VAT countries (UK, EU, India MRP) show tax inclusive — use ‘remove tax’ to recover the pre-tax amount.
Indian intra-state supplies split GST equally into CGST (centre) and SGST (state). Inter-state supplies use a single IGST. The total tax is the same either way.